Knowing God (Ephesians 1:15-23)

The purpose of Paul’s prayer

For this reason since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in all my prayers.
Ephesians 1:15

I am not a fan of golf. I had a teacher once who called golf the Game Of Lazy Fellows – G-O-L-F. You spend all day running around chasing a little ball. But if there’s one thing that’s worse than watching a game of golf, it’s listening to someone go on and on talking about golf. Zzzzzzzzzzz!

Today, I’m going to be talking about prayer. Not the most interesting topic for some of you, if you’re honest. Cage fighting? That’s cool! Dr Who? Awesome! Prayer? Meh.

And that’s because prayer for you is boring; prayer for you is confusing. You’ve been to prayer meetings where there’s little praying and lots of gossiping. You’ve had someone say to you, “Let’s pray about it,” when what they mean is, “Let’s not do anything about it.” Or you’ve come to a church like this and a guy like me stands up front, closes his eyes, raises his hands and says, “We beseech thee, O Lord!” Understandably, you think that prayer is all about speaking big words that no one understands to someone that no one sees.

The passage we are looking at today is one long prayer but – get this – it’s not talking about the importance of prayer. The apostle Paul is not saying to Christians, “You need to pray.” What he is saying is “You need know God”. If you do not know God, you cannot pray. If you do not know God, it would be impossible for you to pray.

Meaning: the reason why many people do not pray or why many people find it hard to pray, is simply because they don’t know who they’re praying to. They do not know God.

Paul prays for one thing – and just one – in verse 17: that God would enable us to know him.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.
Ephesians 1:17

A prayer for believers

Now most people think that this is a prayer for non-believers – “God please reveal yourself to my non-Christian neighbour and speak to him during the sermon today.” The truth is: this is a prayer for Christians. “Ever since I heard about your faith in Jesus,” Paul says in verse 15, “and your love for all the saints.” Meaning: here are Christians – probably new Christians – who love Jesus and love their church. That’s who Paul is praying for. “I have not stopped thanking God for you,” he says. Every time he thinks about them, he says, “Thank you, Jesus for saving them.”

But then he says, “If there is one thing that I ask God for on your behalf,” – the most important thing for you to have as a new Christian or a young Christian – is that you really know God as your Dad. “I keep asking,” he says, “that the glorious Father may give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” That’s what the Holy Spirit does in our lives as Christians. He reminds us, “You belong to God. God looks at you and he sees his son; he sees his daughter. What he sees is Jesus.”

Do you know this? The real question is not “Do you pray?” but “Do you know God?”

Knowing God

And what Paul does next is expand on this one idea of knowing God. He says:

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18-19

He lists three things we need to know about God. All three place an emphasis not on us, but on God.

Firstly, God calls you. “The hope to which he has called you,” Paul says. Earlier on in verse 12, Paul describes the first believers as those who put their hope in Christ. But here he says, really, it’s God who called you to that hope in that first place. Anytime you have doubts about your faith. Anytime you start wonder if you are really a Christian. Remember this: it was God who called you as a Christian. He chose you from the foundation of the earth. He put his Spirit in you. Paul says, I pray that you guys have this certainty; that you know this truth.

Secondly, God loves you. “The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” It’s easy to misread this and think it’s about our treasure in heaven, since Paul is talking about riches and inheritance. But it’s not our inheritance Paul is talking about, but God’s: The riches of his inheritance, verse 18 says. And what he’s saying is you are his treasure. You are his investment, paid with the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. God loves you that much!

Thirdly and finally, God empowers you. “His incomparably great power for us who believe,” Paul says. It’s almost like Paul is saying, “There’s just no way to measure this – it’s incomparably great!” “But,” he says, “if I had to describe this power, then I’d describe it like this:” Look at verse 19:

That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 1:19-20

It is power to raise Jesus from the dead. It is power for Jesus to rule at God’s right hand with all of his authority; with all of his majesty. “That’s the power I’m talking about,” Paul seems to be saying. That’s the power “for us who believe.”

Do you know this? The fact is that many Christians probably don’t – They do not know about God’s call, God’s love and God’s power working in their lives. They don’t get it. Otherwise, Paul wouldn’t have had to pray this prayer. The question for us today is: Do we know this?

Paul says, “I have not stopped thanking God for you” (verse 16). “I keep asking God” for this (verse 17). It’s not the kind of prayer you say once and then forget about. We pray for all kinds of things – our exams, our health, the weather. I wonder if the most common prayer we say is over food, “Thank you for this char siu pao.” Now Paul does say at the end of Ephesians Chapter 6 to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests,” so it is OK to pray for your exams, it is good to pray for next week’s Chinese New Year event. But the question is: what is the one thing to pray about?  What is the most important thing ask God for?

It is to know God.

That God would reveal himself to us by his Spirit, through Jesus Christ, so that we might know him better. “God, help me to understand.” That’s not hard, it’s being honest. In Mark 9:24 a man comes to Jesus saying, “I believe, help my unbelief.” There’s an honest guy. That’s an honest prayer. I trust you, Jesus. Please help me to trust in you fully.

As Christians, we enter into a relationship with God. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that we have all the answers, but it does means that God helps us to grow in our trust and love of him, the way a kid learns to love and trust his dad – in a relationship with him in his home. In the same way, God helps us by giving us his Spirit, by guiding us in his Word, by changing us to be more like Jesus. What’s encouraging about this is how it is God who works in us to help us grow in knowing him. It’s not something we do by our own strength because we can’t. Paul prays for God to reveal himself; for God to open our eyes by his Spirit.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

I keep asking that God… may give you the Spirit of wisdom and understanding
Ephesians 1:17

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
Ephesians 1:18

Two aspects of knowing God: We need to understand; we need to see. But Paul says we need the Spirit in order to understand. And we need God to open the eyes of our hearts in order for us to see. The question is: How do we see with our hearts? What are we meant to see… with our hearts?

Last week, we read of another physical sense back in verse 13: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” That’s something I hope we’re doing now. We are hearing with our ears; we are hearing the word of truth – that is, the gospel. But Paul is saying that something else needs to happen in addition to hearing this message. We need to see with our hearts. Paul explains this further in 2 Corinthians 4:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4,6

What Paul is describing is the gospel. We hear the gospel preached – plainly and clearly from the bible. And we hear it with our ears. But God opens our hearts so that through the gospel we can see the glory of Christ. Both need to happen: the preaching of the word of the gospel and the breaking in of the light of the gospel into our hearts.

Meaning: if any of what you’ve heard so far makes sense; if even one thing in today’s message makes you goes, “Wow, I never know that before!” – that is the evidence of God’s Spirit working in you; revealing himself to you. That’s what Paul is praying for the Christians in Ephesus. That the eyes of your hearts be enlightened – which is funny word – it means, that light will come into your heart, otherwise you’re blind. Otherwise, everything’s just a blur. It means that without God’s help, you’re sitting there listening to the exact same words, looking at the exact same text in the bible and you’re thinking, “This is boring. Why would anyone believe any of this?” But if God’s spirit is working in you, you hear the gospel and you read the bible and your heart goes, “Jesus is awesome!”

My job is to show you what’s right here – in the bible. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:2, we set forth the truth “plainly”. I’m just the guy who delivers the pizza to the door. I’m not supposed to add any special ingredients. I did not come up with the recipe. I serve you best by just getting the gospel to you plainly and clearly.

Maybe that’s something we should keep in mind next week during our Chinese New Year celebration. There are going to be lots of people are coming. There are going to be lots of expectations. And there’s going to be a lot of pressure: to put on a good show, to make a good impression, to make sure everyone has a good time. We need to be careful of the pressure that says the gospel is not enough. That say people are not going to understand the gospel. That says we need to something more interesting, more attractive to draw people to Jesus than what the gospel can offer.

Paul says what we need is for God to shine the gospel into our hearts to see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ”. It is not something we could ever do. Only the Holy Spirit does this. Only God can do this. And if there is one thing we need to pray to happen next week – it’s not that the food gets ready on time, it’s not that the music is compelling – all these are important, but what is the one thing that needs to happen next week? It’s for God to open their hearts and our hearts to see Jesus as amazing. Glorious. To hear this message of God taking our sin and wickedness and filth and dumping it all on Jesus and taking all his righteousness and glory and transferring it to our account, and for us to hear this truth and respond by saying, “That’s unbelievable! That’s cool!” That’s what we need God to do.

Paul never stopped praying for this. He really loved these Christians and what he wanted most for them above all else was for this church to know God better. If you know Jesus and love someone – a family member, your best friend, someone you care about, someone you are concerned about – there is no greater prayer you could pray than this: that they know the God who made them and the God who died for them on the cross. There is no greater prayer you could pray.

I began by saying that this passage is not Paul telling us, “You need to pray,” but him urging us by saying, “You really need to know God”. But the flipside is this: If you do know God, you will pray. You will pray for others to come to a saving knowledge of God by his Spirit through Jesus Christ. You will pray out of love for people. You pray out of the knowledge of God’s love. You will pray this prayer, if you know how precious and awesome it is to know God as your Father and Jesus as your Saviour. You will pray.

But finally, Paul ends his prayer by talking about God’s plan. That is, knowing God’s plan will stir you to prayer for God's people.

God’s plan and Christ’s fullness

He raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the age to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:20-23

God’s plan is for all things to be under one headship: Christ Jesus as Lord. That’s the direction everything is heading towards – even those in opposition to Jesus as King. That is what Paul means by “rulers, authorities, powers and dominions” – these are spiritual forces that continue to rebel against God. All things will be under Christ’s feet, and Christ will be head over everything. That’s the plan.

But then the prayer ends on an unexpected note: “for the church” (the end of verse 22). He goes on further to elaborate that the church is “his body” and “his fullness”. What does this mean?

Some of you know that many of our brothers and sisters from the English Congregation are away next week. These include many of our mature Christian brothers. These include many of our leaders, musicians and bible study leaders. So, I received an email last week from a concerned member asking me, “Are we going to have a meeting next week? It’s Chinese New Year, everyone is away and only a few people will come.” In truth, I get asked this question every year and I do honestly struggle with the answer every single year. I wrote back to say, “This is one of those things we do in service not to the many but for the few.”

In other words, it’s an opportunity to serve the way Jesus did: Leaving the ninety-nine sheep in search of the one lost sheep. It is an opportunity to show our Christian brothers and sisters that they really do matter to Jesus, individually and corporately.

God places all things under Jesus’ feet – he is the King, he is the Christ, but he does so “for the church”. It is meant to be an encouragement that God is in control. The few who turn up next week at the English Service, they are his body. They are no less the people of God. And verse 23 says, “his fullness” is with them. When we gather in Jesus’ name, we do not lack a single thing. His fullness fills everything in every way. Often, we learn the preciousness of that truth not in times of plenty but in want.

Paul prays. He prays for God to fill these young Christians with the knowledge of himself. But he also prays that these Christians would be filled with the fullness of Christ. Do you know this? If not, why not come clean. Why not say to God, “I believe, help my unbelief. I just want to know you better.”

Amen.

All I once held dear, built my life upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
(“Knowing You, Jesus”, Graham Kendrick)

What if Jesus turned up at the Mid-Autumn Festival? (John 8:12-20)

Harvest in the desert

It is one of the biggest festivals in the Chinese calendar. Back in Malaysia we call it Pesta Tanglung, which is Malay for Lantern Festival. But most know it as the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Mooncake Festival, named after the super-sweet lotus paste dessert called mooncakes, commonly enjoyed this time of the year. It is celebrated not just in China and Hong Kong, but also in Vietnam and the Philippines. In Korea, this weekend just happens to coincide with Chuseok, a major holiday marking the celebration of the autumn harvest.

So when I was choosing a passage for this Sunday, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be cool if the bible said something about the autumn festival?”

And you know what? It does.

Way back in Exodus 23 God gives a command to the Israelites that they are to celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when they gathered in the crops from their fields. The reason was thanksgiving. The people of God were to remember all that God had blessed them with in terms of land, food, blessing, wealth and life. It was the time of the year when grapes and olives would be harvested and the Israelites gathered to celebrate and give thanks to God. So there we have it: God actually commands us to celebrate the Autumn Festival!

The thing is: it was a pretty strange thing that God had commanded the Israelites to do - to celebrate this Autumn harvest. You see, back in Exodus 23, the Israelites were in the desert. They had just been rescued from slavery in Egypt and lived in tents. They kept moving from place to place. These guys didn’t have any land. They couldn’t grow any crops. How could they be expected to celebrate a harvest in a desert?

The point was: they couldn’t celebrate this festival. Or at least, not yet. Embedded in this command was a promise. God was going to give them a land where they could grow their crops and where they could build their homes. And when they finally received this blessing from God, they were to remember to be thankful.

But we’re not looking at Exodus today, because what I want to do is fast forward 1,500 years to the temple in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Because here we see the celebration as it’s meant to be. The people are in the land. They are gathering in the crops. They are worshipping God and giving thanks to him for the bountiful harvest.

And also because here in John’s Gospel, we see Jesus turning up at the height of the Autumn Harvest Celebrations.

John 7 refers to this as the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2). It’s the same celebration with a different name, because a tabernacle is basically a fancy word for a tent. And what the Israelites would do was construct a temporary hut out of wood and bamboo; and during the duration of this festival they would live in this hut and eat in this hut and sleep in this hut. Why? To remember the time when the people of God lived in tabernacles, or tents as they wandered through the desert. In fact, Sukkot (the Jewish word for Tabernacle) is still celebrated today.

You see the reverse is now happening. Now that they have plenty, the Israelites remember the time when they had little. When they didn’t have land. When there was no harvest.

Being thankful in plenty and in want

Perhaps it is a helpful reminder for us today as we gather at the Chinese Church for our Mid-Autumn Festival. What are you thankful for? How has God blessed you this year? With that job, or that university place, or that new relationship, or that new baby? Today is an opportunity to recognise God’s goodness in blessing you abundantly and graciously. Maybe like these Israelites you might need to think back to the time when you hadn’t yet received these blessings; when times were lean and tough. Maybe it might be helpful for you to remember how far God has brought you in your walk with him.

Conversely you might not have very much to be thankful for. For you, times are tough right now. Well, like the Israelites in the desert, you are meant to hear God’s promise in these words - he will guide you, he is leading you and he will be true to his promises in Christ.

I am the light of the world

Like us today, the Israelites would have gathered together to give thanks to God. Verse 20 gives us a clue where this happened. It says there that Jesus was teaching “in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put”, and this would have been in what was called the “Women’s Court”. This was one of the largest assembly areas in the temple. The reason why it’s called the Women’s Court is not because only women were allowed in, but that this was the furthest bit in the temple that women could advance in approaching God. Beyond this, only men were allowed; after that, only the priests; and after that, only the High Priest. The Women’s Court was this huge (about 71 squared meters) and up to six thousand men and women would pack the court on a day like this, especially on the night of the Festival of Tabernacles.

Now one further and important reason why they gathered in this court was because situated at each of the four corners of the square were four huge, ginormous lampstands that stretched up 86 feet into the air. That’s almost as high as King’s College Chapel. So you need to imagine six thousand people packed into King’s College Chapel, looking up at the four corners to these tall pillars where there would be four gigantic bowls. And as the sun set in the distance, and darkness began to creep in, these large lamps would then be lit and the night sky would suddenly be ablaze with light!

And it was then, as the thousands of worshippers were watching this spectacle, that they would have heard a voice cry out among them, saying, “I am the light of the world!”

The light of life

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

What did Jesus mean? Why did he choose this moment to draw attention to himself?

Remember: the festival was a commemoration of the Exodus, when God led Israel out of slavery in Egypt. And the Israelites could visibly see God’s presence manifested in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Wherever God led them, they followed. For those forty years, he guided them in safety, he provided for them daily, until he brought them to the Promised Land.

Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” At one level, he is using the same imagery. Following Jesus means having that same experience of God’s presence and guidance. He is their light in the midst of darkness.

But Jesus actually says more. Whoever follows him will have the light of life. The contrast between light and darkness is that of life and death. To know Jesus is know life. No Jesus means no life.

It might be worth pointing out what Jesus is not saying. He is not saying that he is author of all life on earth - though that is true (John 1:3). He is not saying that we all owe our life to God - though that too, is true.

No, what Jesus is pointing out is this: We live our lives in darkness. We walk in darkness. By that, Jesus is saying that we are essentially walking in death. But Jesus has come to bring us true life. He has come as a light shining in the darkness.

But as this passage goes on to show, our first instinct is to reject this light.

The light of truth

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

John 8:13

The religious leaders reject Jesus’ statement. You could argue that they had a point: Jesus was making a rather wild claim. Here we are gathered for a nice celebration. We’ve brought our friends from out of town. Everyone is looking forward to the big buffet at the end of the day. We are honouring God as we are meant to. Jesus, what’s your problem? Why do you have to spoil things by stirring up trouble yet again? And what does it even mean that you’re the light of the world?

Yet notice, none of this form the basis of the Pharisees’ challenge to Jesus. They claim that his testimony isn’t true. Why? Because Jesus is appearing as his own witness. Meaning: they need more proof. Meaning: there needs to be something in addition to what Jesus has just said about himself - another witness, another voice, another perspective.

You know what? I think this is one of the most common objections I’ve heard in recent years here in Cambridge. “How can you seriously believe the bible?” And the objection is not just the bible is unreliable, but rather that the bible by itself, is insufficient for anyone to come to any conclusion about who God is or whether Jesus really existed. It is such an ancient document.

Christians are thought of as simpletons for taking the bible as truth: to consider the words written in this book as actually being inspired by God.

When what we really need to do is test it. With science. With reasoning. Perhaps even with personal insight and experience. We need to supplement the claims of the bible - perhaps even challenge them - with other sources of knowledge.

After all, don’t we have talks organised by the Christian Union of the historicity of the bible? Isn’t there important archeological evidence that supports the detailed events, dates and places recorded in books like Acts in the New Testament. Aren’t we inviting one of the foremost apologists in the world, Dr William Lane Craig next month to engage with Professor Hawking’s book, “The Grand Design”?

And yet...

And yet, as Christians we need to be clear that what we are doing is not supplementing the truth of the bible. Rather having confidence in the authenticity and sufficiency of the claims of scripture, we are able to - and even, eager to - engage with every aspect of these claims on the world. That includes science. That includes philosophy. That includes history.

But the source of that certainty and knowledge is God himself. The bible is God’s word. It is God’s self-revealing and self-authenticating word. That means to say: the only reason we can know anything about God is that he has revealed himself to us. And the bible says he has done that supremely in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

What this means practically is: the bible is complete. That’s the doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture. Everything that God has to say about salvation is here. Everything that we need to know about Jesus for God to effect saving trust in him is here in this book.

And that’s what Jesus says in verse 14.

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.”

John 8:14

The religious leaders object that Jesus is making statements about himself which cannot be verified and therefore cannot be true. But Jesus says, “Actually, I can.” In a few verses, he will appeal to their reasoning. In verse 17, Jesus will cite the Law which the Pharisees are familiar with to back his claims up. Yet it is so important for us to see that Jesus’ claims are self-authenticating; they are self-sufficient. “My testimony is valid,” Jesus says, “for I know where I came from and where I am going.” By that, Jesus isn’t simply hinting at his origins - where he came from - but pointing forward to the cross. He knows where he is headed - towards his own death. “But you have no idea,” Jesus adds. The religious leaders are clueless as to Jesus’ identity and purpose.

Yet notice how the sentence begins. “Even if,” Jesus says. He doesn’t just make a statement about himself, which in itself would have been true and valid. “Even if,” means: Jesus gives them more. More to go on. He is helping them in their unbelief to see who he truly is. Friends, that ought to amaze us.

And friends, what Jesus says next ought to humble us..

The light of judgement

“You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

John 8:15-18

The picture is that of a law court. Words like “testimony”, “witness”, “judgement”, “truth” and “law” come together to paint a picture of judge, defendant, accuser and witnesses in a law court.

What is happening is this: Jesus is helping the religious leaders and the crowds listening to him to work out and reason through who he is and what he is really saying. He even uses their own arguments and objections to clarify their doubts.

“In your own Law,” Jesus says, referring to the Old Testament which these religious professors would have been experts in, “it is written that the testimony of two men is valid”. You guys know this is what is needed to establish authenticity and truth.

And Jesus goes on to say that he is Witness Number One. But then he calls in another witness to the stand. Jesus calls in God. “My other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Get this: here we are picturing a scene in a law court and Jesus is the accused. God himself steps in as the witness for the accused. Who is missing? The accuser and the judge.

Verse 15 reads: “You judge by human standards; I pass judgement on no-one”. In this scenario, Jesus’ hearers are acting as judge over him and over God.

Friends, I think Jesus would say of us today: “You are making judgements on who I am when you make a judgement what I have said. You are standing in judgement over God using human standards.”

I spoke to a university student recently over the summer break. She wasn’t a stranger to church. She had been coming Sunday after Sunday since she was a little girl. Heard many sermons. Even helped out with children’s church. But God didn’t seem a priority at the moment. Not with the workload. Not with tutorials. Not with job applications after finals.

I said to her, “Every time we hear the bible read; each time the gospel is preached, we are making a judgement. Even when we walk out of the meeting and say to ourselves, ‘Oh how nice for them as Christians, but that’s not for me,’ that too, is a judgement. We are saying to God, ‘You don’t really matter to me that much. I don’t think Jesus is all that important.’”

The Pharisees had made a decision about Jesus. In their minds, he was a liar. Jesus responds by saying their verdict is not just about him. It revealed their judgement on God himself.

In verse 16, Jesus says again, “But if”. “I pass judgement on no-one. But if I do judge, me decisions are right, because I am not alone”. One day, Jesus will return to judge; he will be the Supreme Judge of all the living and the dead; that is, God will hand over all judgements to be carried out by Jesus.

But for now, Jesus stands as the true witness. He is the light of the world. He offers the light of life. He bears the evidence to the truth of his testimony. The Greek word for witness is “martur”, where we get the word “martyr”. God has sent Jesus to bear the sins of the world on the cross. It is on the cross that Jesus bears witness as the true light of salvation.

And the question is: Who do you think Jesus is? Who is he in relation to you - the light of God’s presence and salvation whom you follow wholeheartedly? Or the accused over whom you stand as judge and accuser?

The key to answering that question is to see who Jesus is in relation to God.

The light of salvation

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

John 8:19

The question the Pharisees pose to Jesus is “Where”. Jesus answers, “Who”.

“Where is the Father, Jesus? Where is this second witness you have been raving about? We don’t see him here, do we?”

It wasn’t really a question, was it? More of an insult actually. They might have even meant to refer to Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, who would have been dead and buried by now.

Still, I wonder if they meant it as a challenge. “Show us your Father, Jesus. Then we will believe.” I don’t think they were talking about Joseph at all. They knew Jesus was referring to God as his heavenly Father. I say this because verse 20 implies they wanted to arrest him on the spot. Something Jesus said caused them so much anger; sounded so much like blasphemy; that John says in verse 20, it was surprising that no-one crucified him then and there!

What was it Jesus said that stirred up so much hate in the religious leaders towards him? Jesus gives a two-fold answer: First, he says they are clueless about who Jesus is or who God is. That’s bad enough.

But secondly, Jesus says: If you knew me, you would know my Father also. What is he saying? To know Jesus is to know God.

Remember where he is standing. It’s the Feast of the Tabernacles. They are in the temple courts. Ask anyone “Where is God?” and they will answer, “Why, God is there, of course - beyond the altar of sacrifice, behind the walls of the Holy Place, behind the curtain.” God is in his temple.

But Jesus didn’t point towards the temple. He pointed to himself. If you knew me, Jesus says, you would know God!

Isn’t that why they wanted to arrest him; why they wanted to kill him? And they eventually did kill him: Wasn’t it because Jesus clearly claimed to be God?

So, when Jesus stands and proclaims, “I am the light of the world!” What is he saying? This celebration of thanksgiving is about me! The pillar of fire in the Exodus - that is me! The light of God’s first act of creation in Genesis when God spoke and said, “Let there be light!” - that’s me! The light of the glory of God which Moses saw on the mountain in Sinai - that’s me! The light of God’s salvation - that’s me! The light of God’s word - that’s me!

If you knew me, Jesus says, you would know the Father; you would know God!
Now if Jesus does that at the Feast of Tabernacles in the temple two thousand years ago, wouldn’t you think he might do that here today? Why have we gathered for this big celebration at the Chinese Church? To eat mooncakes? (Sorry there aren’t any this year!) Might Jesus say to us: this Mid-Autumn Festival should remind us of his light of salvation?

Or might Jesus even dare to say: September 11th is not simply a reminder of the horrors that happened a decade ago - but stands as a reminder of the horrors of humanity two thousand years ago, when the Son of God bore the anger and hatred of our sins on the cross?

Jesus says, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also”. “If,” meaning: we are meant to ask the question - Do you know Jesus? If you did, you would know God.

Light of the world

You stepped down into darkness.

Opened my eyes, let me see.

Beauty that made this heart adore You

Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that You're my God

(“Light of the world”, Chris Tomlin)

Light of the world | Mid-autumn celebration event @ The Chinese Church

http://www.rockfellowship.org.uk/light/

Join us this Sunday, 2pm at the Chinese Church as we look at the claims of Jesus Christ in John's gospel, Chapter 8, verse 12:

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Renewal (Exodus 34)

Written in stone

The LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

So Moses chiselled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.

Exodus 34:1-4

Moses, the prophet of God, the friend of God, who speaks face to face to God, is reduced to the photocopy boy of God. “Chisel out two stone tablets,” God says to Moses, “like the first ones,” in verse 1, and again in verse 4.

I can almost imagine this as the opening scene of a Xerox advertisement. Moses turns around and says to God, “Would you like that double-sided in A4 colour?”

But verse 1 tells us that Moses isn’t making additional copies of the Ten Commandments, but replacements. “Write on them the words that were on the first tablets,” God says, “which you broke”. The originals have been destroyed. New papers have to be drawn up. And these have to be exact copies of the first ones.

The tablets are a contract God that has drawn up with his people: a covenant, as verse 10 calls it. In it God’s promises that (1) He will give the nation of Israel a land to make their home in and call their own, (2) He will bless them as his people, and (3) He will be their God. There are two copies because there are two parties involved in this contract - God and Israel.

But Israel had broken its side of the agreement. By making a idol of God in the shape of a golden calf and bowing down to worship this idol, the people of God had broken the first two commandments: There were to have no other gods; They were forbidden from worshipping idols - The two big ones. In a fit of rage, Moses had smashed the first tablets containing the Ten Commandments. The agreement was off. The covenant had been broken.

But Chapter 34 is about renewal. The renewal of God’s promises. The renewal of God’s love.

The glory of God’s name

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:5-7

In Chapter 33, Moses asks God for proof that God has forgiven Israel of its sin of idolatry. It was a bold thing to do. “Now show me your glory,” Moses said to God. Moses was asking for proof of God’s power. Proof of God’s promise.

But God says he will show Moses proof of his goodness.

And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.”

Exodus 33:19

Here in Chapter 34 we see the fulfilment of that promise. As Moses stands before God on his holy mountain, holding the two tablets of the Testimony, God comes in a cloud and stands there with Moses, proclaiming his name.

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:5-7

The LORD is God’s personal, holy and divine name. It is written in capitals (“The LORD”) as opposed to verse 9, where Moses says, “O Lord”. The early bible scholars who copied out the Old Testament scriptures by hand considered God’s name so holy that in order to avoid misusing God’s name, they would say, “Lord” (‘Adonay, which means “My master”, or even, “Mr Boss!”) out loud when reading the bible, instead of God’s personal name (YHWH in Hebrew). Often in the bible, to call on God’s name is ask for God’s help in times of serious trouble. The LORD is God’s salvation name.

God is compassionate and gracious - two characteristics which are similar at first glance, but emphasise two distinct truths about God’s generosity. God is compassionate in responding to those in need and trouble. He is the God of the fatherless, the widow and the poor. Grace, on the other hand, is shown to those who do not deserve God’s love.

God is slow to anger. It means he is patient with us. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. One translation has the description “longsuffering”. God waits for us to turn from our sin.

God’s love and faithfulness is abounding. It overflows. The pair of words can also be translated “grace” and “truth” (chesed w’emeth) - the same pair of words we find ascribed to Jesus in the opening verses of John’s gospel which describe the Word which came from the Father “full of grace and truth”. Together they mean that God is always, always loving; always, He is always, always true to his word.

God maintains love to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. It is saying that any sin, and every sin - whether wickedness (the evil in our hearts), rebellion (crossing the line with God; turning against God) and sin (which at the heart of it is making ourselves to be God) - any sin and every sin is in view of God’s forgiveness. At the heart of God’s forgiveness is his love (some translations have “mercy”). At Rock Fellowship, we talked about whether it was easier or harder to forgive someone we truly love. Some of us said that if we loved someone we should at least be inclined to forgive him or her. But we also recognised how painful and difficult it would be to forgive someone especially when the sin they committed is personal, hateful and deeply hurtful. That is the situation with God. He loves us enough to forgive our sin. He loves us enough to be deeply hurt by our sin. Forgiveness is costly for a loving God.

Finally, God will not leave the guilty unpunished. “He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” God is holy and just. His holiness means he cannot tolerate sin. His justice means he must punish sin and wrongdoing.

So God is personal, compassionate, gracious, loving, patient, faithful, merciful and just. That is God’s name. That is God’s character revealed in his name.

But there is one more important attribute of God we see in the following verses. God is a jealous God.

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. “O Lord, if I have found favour in your eyes,” he said, “then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

Then the LORD said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.  Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Exodus 34:8-14

The heart of the issue is worship. Israel must be careful not to worship any other god but the God of the covenant; the God who saved them from slavery; the God who spoke to them his words from his holy mountain. This is exclusive worship. Israel would be tempted to worship God alongside the gods of the nations. Israel would be tempted to worship God following the ways of the nations. But God says: Exclusive worship means worshipping God and God alone.

Exclusive worship also means God’s way of worship. And his way alone.

Holy Days

“Do not make cast idols.

“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed. “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the ploughing season and harvest you must rest.

“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.

“Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning. “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Exodus 34:17-26

This bit should look familiar. Every single point, every law and command, every feast and festival has been covered before, somewhere between Exodus Chapters 20 to 23, when God spoke the Ten Commandments to Israel and gave the contents of the Book of the Covenant to Moses. Why then is it repeated here?

It’s a renewal of the contract. The repetition of the same laws highlight the fact that these are the same terms; it is the same agreement; it is the same contract. And nothing has changed. (Well, except maybe for one exception in verse 17, where God says, “No cast idols” - obviously referring to the cast golden calf in Chapter 32. It is as if God pencilled in this extra bit just to remind the Israelites - “Don’t you do that again!”)

Still, it is worth noticing again that these regulations have to do specifically with prescribed times and divinely-authorised forms of worship. There are to be three main holy days - holidays, if you like - marked in the Jewish calendar when the people of God are to appear before him offering sacrifices and celebrating his appointed feasts.

The first is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or Passover, commemorating the night of their rescue from Egypt (see Exodus 12). It is held in the first month of the new year - so this was sort of like their version of Lunar New Year. Everyone would gather before God - this would later happen at the temple in Jerusalem - similar to how everyone in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia would rush home for the reunion dinner.

The second holiday is called the Feast of Weeks and this marked the beginning of harvest. It was celebrated seven weeks after Passover, or fifty days later, hence its other name, Pentecost. During this festival, farmers would bring in the first cut of their crops - the first fruits - and offer them to God.

The third holiday is here called the Feast of Ingathering, also called the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Festival of Booths. To remember their time journeying through the desert when the whole nation lived in tents and moved from place to place, this festival was marked by the construction of wooden huts which the people of God would celebrate their meal together under, and perhaps even sleep in. But here in Exodus 34, this festival marks the autumn season when the last of the harvest would be brought in. The people of God would give thanks to God for all that he had blessed them with that year.

In a way, this last festival might have some relevance to us at the Chinese Church, who are planning a big celebration to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival in just a couple of weeks. How best can we honour God with an event like that? By eating mooncakes to the glory of God? By inviting our friends and entertaining them with skits and performances? By decorating the church with colourful lanterns?

Why not mark the coming celebration with thankfulness; by recognising how much God has blessed us individually as Christians, and corporately as the people of God? It is not wrong to celebrate. It is not wrong to have food. Indeed, here God commands his people to do both. And yet, what is unique to the feasts and festivals commanded in the book of Exodus - compared to say Idil-fitri or Deepavali, or even our Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival - is this: the exclusive worship of the LORD God alone. He alone deserves all the glory, all the thanks and all the recognition for all that he has blessed us with.

Will this be obvious to our friends when they visit us at the celebration in two weeks time? Will it be obvious to our Christians brothers and sisters? That what we are doing is worshipping God and worshipping him exclusively according to his word?

And at the heart of Exodus 34 is God’s covenantal word defining God’s covenantal worship. We must never forget that. Right after God says, “Worship me in this way,” God says to Moses, “Write this down these words.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 34:27-28

It is the perfect ending. God re-establishes his covenant with Israel. The Ten Commandments are reinstated. The agreement is signed and sealed.

But the story doesn’t end just yet.

The veil over our hearts

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

Exodus 34:29-35

Bible experts tell us that the Hebrew word “qaran” here translated as “radiant” - that is Moses’ face had a radioactive glow after his exposure to God’s glory - was once thought to mean “horn”. The word is apparently very rare in the Old Testament (and occurs mostly in this passage only). But for some time it was said that Moses grew horns from his encounter with God (This was even translated as such in the Latin Vulgate). In some churches, you can actually find statues and paintings of Moses with horns on his head!

Today, it’s been established by scholars that the word refers to some sort of a glow (One big reason is the corresponding New Testament passage we will look at in a moment). Moses, having spent so much time alone with God on the mountain, walks down with the two tablets of stone in his hands, but unknown to him, his face is “radiant”. Aaron and the Israelites see this and they are freaked out. Because of this, Moses had to put a covering on his head. It could have been a dish-cloth, or he maybe he had a ninja thing going. But the point is, he covered his face when he was down the mountain speaking God’s word to the Israelites, and when he was up the mountain talking to God, the passage says, he “removed the veil”.

What’s going on here?

Moses is speaking God’s message to the people, but they recoil in fear. They see the effect of God’s presence on Moses and to them it is strange, weird and fearful. So Moses has to cover his face. But when he meets God, he takes off the covering.

The bible says this is a picture of our hearts when we hear the word of God. Something stops us from getting the full picture. Something blinds us from seeing God’s glory.

Paul writes the following words in his second letter to the church of Corinth:

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
2 Corinthians 3:13-16

Notice that Paul says (twice) that “to this day” a veil remains over our hearts. This is something that happens today. Yet, he is obviously referring to past events we just read about Moses and the renewal of the law in Exodus 34. The apostle Paul is saying that Exodus 34 is a picture of what goes on every time we open our bibles and yet miss the glory of God. He is saying that it is possibly to hear the words of the bible and come away completely clueless!

Who is Paul talking about? Some suggest he is talking about Jews - the same way the original hearers in Moses’ day could not bear to see the full glory of God as they heard the word of God being read.

But a few verses later, Paul clarifies that this phenomenon of blindness is not restricted simply to hearers of the Old Testament. Rather, Paul is describing anyone and everyone who hears the gospel but turns away from Jesus Christ.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:4-6

Unbelievers cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. He doesn’t say that they refuse to see the glory. He doesn’t say that they haven’t had the opportunity to see this glory. Paul writes “they cannot see”. The god of this age (talking about Satan) has blinded their minds. Such that they see but they cannot see.

And what it takes to remove this blindness is nothing less than a miracle of God. A miracle so spectacular, it rivals the first miracle of creation itself, “Let there be light!” Only God can do this. And what God does is make his light shine in our hearts “to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God”.

Notice the last few words: “in the face of Christ”. What you and I need to see in Jesus. God lifts the veil such that we hear the gospel; we read these words and what we see is this: we see the face of Jesus Christ.

Do you see him? When you hear these words - do you see Jesus? That’s the whole point of this book, isn’t it? It is God speaking his glory into our hearts, revealing the fullness of his grace and his truth in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you see him?

Make the book live to me, O Lord,
Show me Yourself within Your Word,
Show me my sin,
And show me my Saviour,
And make the book live to me.

(Alistair Begg)

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

(Michael W. Smith, “Open the eyes of my heart”)